Here are 5 great duets (more duets on the way…):

1. “God Only Knows” — Beach Boys Cover by Mandy Moore & Michael Stipe

2. “Love Hurts” — Everly Brothers/Roy Orbison/Nazareth Cover by Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice

3. “Anyone Else But You” — Moldy Peaches Cover by Ellen Page & Michael Cera in Juno

4. “Sometimes Always” — The Jesus and Mary Chain

5. “Delaware” (Acoustic) — Wesley Jensen and Christie Dupree

Canadians are always trying to one-up Americans. If a Yank orders some fries, a Canuck will dump a shit load of gravy and cheese curds on top just to feel superior. They’ve even decided to celebrate Thanksgiving one month ahead of the US. So while Americans celebrate Thanksgiving today, their neighbors to the north are wondering what took them so long.

On a side note, Ellen Page is Canadian.

1. .ATONEMENT BEAUTY.

2. .RECENTLY OUTDATED THINGS.

3.  .SWINGING.

4. .NAPS.

5. .THE PLANET WE LIVE ON.

[Click for my reasoning.]

6. .BROCADE.

[Left to Right] Sienna Miller, Charlotte Ronson Fall 2009, Forever 21, and Alexa Chung

7. .ALL THINGS HARRY.

8. .GUY FRIENDS.

9. .THIS HAUNTING STATISTIC.

10. .MONTAGES. AND THE WORD MONTAGE.

Have a beautiful Tuesday.

Peace,

Sources: bear, long live the queen, that obscure object, alice in wardrobe wonderland, i am the exterminator, bleubird vintage

- Som en godispåse, konstaterar syrran.
- En god godispåse, svarar jag
Drew Barrymores regidebut har känts lite läskig, framförallt eftersomd et är en stor utmaning att göra en film om slagsmålsbenägna rollergirls i nätstrumpor utan att få den att kännas unket sexistisk. Men nej. Kasslerstrumpan lyser med sin närvaro och sexismen med sin frånvaro. För även om storyn är enkel, och berättarknepen kända så undviker Drew många av de klassiska fällorna- mer än så vill jag inte berätta för att slippa förstöra spänningen.

Och vilken skådislista sen: Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis!!, sångerskan Eve och stuntkvinnan Zoe Bell. Nu är bara frågan; kommer den på bio? Och annars; i vilket visningsfönster kommer vi kunna se den?

Whip It

Whip It [DVD]

Whip It [Blu-ray]

Director: Drew Barrymore
Writer: Shauna Cross (screenplay)
Shauna Cross (novel)

Starring: Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Alia Shawkat

The directional debut for actress Drew Barrymore comes off as a pleasant surprise. Whip It might not be a groundbreaking movie by any means, nor is it going to raise any Oscar buzz this year or so I would think but however on the plus side of it all Drew Barrymore has turned over a really good start to her directing career.

The movie stars Ellen Page as a young girl trying to find herself and what it is she loves while trying to appease her mother who tends to hold her back from what she truly wants to do. What I did enjoy is even with a character like the mother in this movie I found that I did not really dislike any of the characters being portrayed at all. The movie itself leads you to feel like the characters involved are very human and as a result you feel a better connection with each of them.

Ellen Page is her role proves once again why she has tremendous potential as an actress in Hollywood. Page turns over a fantastic performance which might be the only one that could get a nod come Oscar season.

The movie is a sports based underdog story which does not fall victim to cliche’s of the genre. What we are inevitably left with here is a well presented, interesting, and overall feel good human story. I applaud Drew Barrymore for her turn as a director and look forward to more feature films from her.

My Rating: 73%
Over 72, 000 DVDs for $24.95/month! Check out Canada’s Leading Online Video Service

Sorry not to have been around, but life and work are getting in the way of blogging, as ever. I was interested to hear today that things seem to be developing a bit with the projected feature film of Jane Eyre . Originally, Juno star Ellen Page was supposed to be playing the title role, but she dropped out a while ago and now it is said that the heroine will be played by Mia Wasikowska, who is also playing Alice in the new Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland, with Michael Fassbender as Mr Rochester.  Here’s a link to the full information at Variety.  

Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender are currently in negotiations to star in “Sin nombre” Cary Fukunaga’s (Sin nombre) adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel, Jane Eyre.

The film is to be a period piece but will play up the gothic elements of the story about Jane (Wasikowska), a demure governess who discovers her surly employer Rochester (Fassbender) is harboring a dark secret.

Wasikowska will next be seen as Alice alongside Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, which Disney is releasing next year. The actress is also going to be in Gus Van Sant’s untitled project for producers Bryce Dallas Howard and Imagine’s Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

I don’t think I have actually seen her in anything yet so not sure how good an actress she is. Ellen Page (Juno, Inception) was originally down to play Jane, but has since left the project.

Fassbender previously appeared in Steve McQueen’s Hunger, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank.

He will next be seen in Neil Marshall’s Roman action film Centurion and Warner Bros. comic book western Jonah Hex opposite Josh Brolin and Megan Fox.

Fassbender is a totally solid actor. He was spot on as Basterd and just seems to be going from strength to strength which each new film. I have no doubt he will make a splendid Rochester.

I am just really curious to see what Fukunaga will do with this classic tale. Shooting is due to start next year.

Today is officially my BUSIEST DAY EVER!!!

This kid sure loves Raptor Jesus!

Not Ellen Page, that’s for sure.

This has NOTHING to do with that adorable mug of yours, Ellen Page. HA!

I was certain that when I deleted those posts a couple of days ago that my stats would go plummeting back down to five or six views a day.  But I was wrong.  Yesterday I hit over 100 views and today is my busiest day ever thanks to Raptor Jesus and my Hot Music Men.  I think it’s time to celebrate.

So I’m throwing another big Hollywood party with all of my celebrity friends.  Right now.

Hey Hey! It's Richard Simmons! Here for my party. Hope he brought those double fudge chocolate chip brownies he loves so much.

If you’ll excuse me, I have to go now.  Lady GaGa’s hair just caught on fire… or that might just be a new look.

For everyone who already frequents my blog, my blog is now featured on Haligonia.ca, a local website that features all sorts of local content, which is pretty damn’d awesome if I may say so myself. I am thrilled to welcome a whole new fleet of Haligonians to the wonderful world of Glen Matthews.

And now, to welcome said fleet.

Every good blog (and let me tell you, my blog is effing awesome) has a general theme. This blawg’s theme is me, The Glen Matthews. But what do I do? I am an actor! Fun, right? SO the purpose of this blog is to invite you to follow me in my various exploits in the film industry!

This is my headshot. I like it, it covers up my self-loathing very well!

Most notably, I worked on MOBY DICK, featuring Ethan Hawk, William Hurt, Gillian Anderson, and a bunch of other actors who are much prettier than me (click here for blog entries regarding Moby Dick). A couple of weeks ago, I worked on Cory Bowles‘ second short film RIGHTEOUS, which of course, I blogged about. Last year, I went to Sundance Film Festival with the short film TREEVENGE (blogged the entire adventure to Park City, Utah here) directed by Jason Eisener, who is currently in pre-production for his first major motion picture HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, to be shot here in the Spring.

Impressed? You shouldn’t be, it’s merely a series of lucky encounters & mind-blowing coincidences that make quantum physics look like a set of building blocks.

You can check out my page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Glen-Matthews/) where you can watch plenty of videos of me doing things, and determine whether or not you can tolerate me enough to become a fan of mine. I implore you to do so, it improves your life!

All that I hope to do is offer a definitive timeline to accompany my raise to fame & riches (lots of riches), and my inevitable battle with Ellen Page for Halifax’s affection. I invite you to follow my adventures in the film & theatre industries and live your life vicariously through mine.

-Glen

PS. This entry was riddled with truthy sarcasm. The worst kind.

PSS. Seriously, please like me.

As I’ve told you, I am a stats freak.  For the past couple months I haven’t been writing because I don’t have internet at my house.  But I sometimes pop in to check on my stats and a couple days ago it was up in the 100’s.  Wow.

And why?  Because of some hot pictures I put up of Ellen Page.

Which I have decided to take down.

I want my blog to be about the things I’m into.  What I like, what I care about, what I think about.  And I only wrote those posts to get more views.  I just felt like such a fake when I would look at my stats and see they were so high only to find that the only reason they were is because I put up some pictures of cute girls.  And that’s just not me.  I don’t want to be that person.  So I have to take them down and get back to what I was doing.  Putting up links to South Park clips and pictures of Raptor Jesus.

My stats will suffer.  But at least I’ll be able to feel a little better about myself.

Thanks a bunch.

I used to think that I hated Drew Barrymore because of Charlie’s Angels,  her stupid palsy face, and for doing stuff like this:

I still kind of hate her, but after having a recent discussion with my friends, I’ve come to the startling realization that I may like Drew Barrymore. I know, it makes me cringe too, but let me explain:

1. I loved “Ever After.” It’s a beautiful dream-like movie that I used to watch over and over when I was younger.
2. I may be the only person in world who actually watched, let alone liked the movie “Never Been Kissed.”
3. I absolutely love “The Wedding Singer.” It is one of my favorite pseudo ’80s movies of all time. It’s one of those movies that, if it’s on, I’ll drop everything to watch.
4. “Donnie Darko”
5. “Whip It” was actually not that bad either. If you can get over the awfulness of Ellen Page (which some people can’t) it’s worth it. Maybe I just liked it because of the roller derby factor, who knows?

In any account, I felt it was necessary to share my feelings on the subject.

Qui a Latveria, siamo dei ragazzi semplici. Ci piace leggere i fumetti, andare in birreria, limonare duro e andare al cinematografo. Quando qualcuno decide di trasportare su grande schermo le imprese di qualche nostro beniamino, noi siamo più che felici di andare a dare dei soldini a qualche annoiata cassiera. Anche se tutti ci fanno notare che abbiamo una certa età, che siamo laureati, che ormai siamo delle persone quasi rispettabili e che il panettiere del quartiere ci riconosce e ci tiene via il pane nei giorni di festa… insomma, ci siamo capiti… nonostante tutto questo, noi giovani e semplici ragazzi di Latveria, non vediamo l’ora di sederci al buio di una sala per vedere dal vivo, dal vero veramente, ciò che su carta ci ha emozionato per una vita intera… E spesso, quasi sempre, usciamo sconfitti, delusi, arrabbiati che ci viene da sbavare, roteare i pugni vero il cielo, sbarrare gli occhi e urlare “Perché? CRISTO, MA PERCHÉ?”

La redazione è dunque fiera di fare i nomi e i cognomi dei colpevoli dei 15 più orribili crimini contro l’umanità mai commessi in ambito fumettistico-cinematografico. Come ai tempi di Dj X & Maurizio Seimandi, andiamo con ordine, calma e parsimonia: oggi andiamo a scoprire chi c’è dalla posizione 15 alla 13…

15- Superman Returns, Bryan Singer, 2006

Il problema con i film di SuperMan è che gli si fa solo spostare-evitare-aggiustare-modificare oggetti inanimati e mai gli si lascia la libertà mollare due ceffoni. E dire che Supes nella sua carriera fumettistica non si è risparmiato in ceffoni.
Nonstante ciò (Do you know Bizarro? Mongul?…etc) nei film il suo unico grande avversario è sempre e comunque (con dovute ma anche risibili eccezioni) una pietra colorata. Non si parte benissimo.

SuperMan alla fine agisce come una gru blu e rossa. Un film in cui non fa altro che sollevare qualcosa.

I grandi avversari e sfide di SuperMan in SM Returns:

Solleva aerei, globi di metallo e donne in carriera (senza provocare upskirt)!

Naturalmente anche il gran finale del film è costituito da una scena in cui SuperMan solleva qualcosa, in questo caso una Capri di Kryptonite.

Tutto questo senza fare riferimenti all’irritantissime storie sul figlioletto di Superman (mai bambino fu più irritante) e su Lois che si spupazza Ciclope.

Attore di pregio che qui mette a rischio la sua carriera:
Frank Langella

14- X-Men: Conflitto Finale, Brett Ratner, 2006

Mentre Bryan Singer era alle prese con il sollevatore di ferro di cui sopra, le redini del terzo e atteso film sui nostri mutanti prefe di sempre, passa nelle manone tozze di Brett Ratner. Il regista di tanti video di Mariah Carey, colui che ha rovinato la carriera di Jackie Chan in terra americana, ce la mette tutta per girare un film all’altezza dei primi due. Sfortunatamente le ambizioni del film si scontrano e si sfracellano contro una sceneggiatura orribile, attori costretti a dire a fare delle cose che li rendono stupidi (il povero Hank McCoy per esempio qui ne esce malissimo) e un regista che giustamente adesso fa i video per Miley Cirus. Si riesce nella difficile impresa di buttare in vacca tutta, TUTTA, la Saga della Fenice Nera. Il bambino “cura” Cameron Bright fa venire voglia di invadere la Polonia. Unica cosa notevole: l’inseguimento tra la nostra amata Kitty Pride (interpretata da Ellen Page) e il grande Vinnie Jones aka Jaggernaut (il Fenomeno in italiano). Infatti…

Attore di pregio che qui mette a rischio la sua carriera:
Ian Mckellen

13 – La Leggenda degli Uomini Straordinari, Stephen Norrington, 2003.

Già dal titolo si capiscono un paio di cose: dagli Straordinari Gentiluomini del libro di Moore, siamo passati ai ben più ordinari Uomini Straordinari di Norrington. Per la cronaca, il nome completo di questo straordinario cretino è Stephen Norrington. Che a confronto Stephen Sommers è Otto Preminger. Ci si nasconde dietro a un “liberamente tratto” per non incappare in denunce da parte di Alan Moore . il quale ovviamente si è tenuto lontano da questa mega cazzata – e poter poi fare di testa propria. Con la simpatica conseguenza di aver rovinato uno dei racconti metaletterari più divertenti e intelligenti degli ultimi anni. Oltre ad aver aggiunto ad cazzum due personaggi come Tom Sawyer e Dorian Gray, si brancola nel buio cercando di trovare almeno una storia da raccontare. Con scarsissimi risultati. Sean Connery col toupé ai minimi storici. I soldi per gli effetti speciali devono essere finiti dopo i primi tre giorni di produzione per cui, dopo una sequenza iniziale con almeno un po’ di verve (leggi: qualche esplosione), il resto sembra brutta televisione. Una nota per coloro che hanno curato l’edizione italiana: Graphic Novel non si traduce Novella Grafica (perché io ve lo giuro, nei titoli di testa c’è scritto così…). Dovreste ridarci i soldi. O almeno la decenza di cambiare lavoro.

Attore di pregio che qui mette a rischio la sua carriera:
Sean Connery

Adriano & Fede MC

ABC Network is at it again. They are in talks with Drew Barrymore and several of the producers of the 1970’s detective show, Charlie’s Angels. I for one love the show and the movies, or at least the first movie.

I liked the first week of the remake of V, however just like FlashForward, I got bored with the second week. Maybe it is because I like Science Fiction but I really wanted these shows to work. I’m going to continue watching V and hope for it to get better. Stargate Universe has begun to get better and I’m even beginning to connect with more than just the Eli character. Maybe the creators of the show have heard the out pouring from the fans of the Stargate universe.

As for Charlie’s Angels, if the show gets off the ground I would definitely still use John Forsythe’s voice for Charlie but I think I would make Bosley a woman. Coincidentally, since Jaclyn Smith made a guest appearance in the second movie, perhaps she should play Bosley. It wouldn’t be a big part for her, but I would look forward to seeing her each and every week. She is still just as beautiful today as she was 30 years ago. It’s amazing.

One more piece of advice for ABC. If you are going to use Drew Barrymore and perhaps Lucy Lui; please replace Cameron Diaz with someone else. It’s a personal thing. I just don’t like her. Using a plot from the 70’s version, let Ellen Page or someone play her younger sister. Come to think of it leave Lucy Lui out of the show as well. We have a Black president, perhaps it’s time for a Black angel. Being a huge fan of Star Trek, I would like to see Zoe Saldena in the role.

Anyone else interested in a remake of Charlie’s Angels?

.

Haz click en la imagen para verla a detalle

La cinta Whip It!, actuada y dirigida por Drew Barrymore, y que se esperaba que estuviera en México para el primer trimestre del 2010, podría no llegar nunca a nuestras salas. Esto debido a que, en teniendo ya siete semanas en cartelera, no ha logrado recaudar ni siquiera su inversión inicial, a pesar de tener la excelente actuación de Ellen Page. Obviamente, los productores están muy interesados en colocarla en otros países, para tratar de recuperar parte del gasto, pero el problema es convencer a un distribuidor de llevarse algo que ha mostrado ser un absoluto fracaso.

I finally saw the roller derby girrl power movie Whip It this weekend. My friend Julie and I found the movie after discovering our first choice Precious wasn’t yet playing in my area. Julie and I wanted to see it, but its easy to figure out why its not in wide release yet since I described the film to my brother as “about a pregnant 300 pound teenage girl. Oh yeah, she has AIDS.  And her dad is the father of her baby.” 

Whip It has received much praise especially in feminist circles for its strong female cast and direction by Drew Barrymore. But it didn’t appeal to me – the roller derby scenes bored me the same way any sports movie does.  As Alia Shakwat’s character, Pash, explains to her best friend, Ellen Page’s Bliss, when she gets excited about roller derby: “I never had a roller skating phase. I had a fat girl, sit in the shade, reading a book phase.”  

Photo: flavorwire.com

Other parts of the movie I wish had been explored were the values placed on both beauty and athleticism in Bliss’ small Texas town.  Her father sits in his truck watching a football game and is jealous of his neighbor’s sons playing for the high school team.  I learned about the religion of football from the non-fiction portrayal of a similar town in Friday Night Lights. Bliss participating in a contact sport like roller derby seemed to play a big role in her father’s acceptance of her new hobby – would his feelings change if Bliss’ hobby wasn’t athletic in nature?

The book Friday Night Lights also explored the entrenched sexism in these dying towns left behind by the oil boom. Bliss’ mother Brooke is a former beauty queen, but is obviously so much more as evidenced by her working-class mail carrier job and tearful admission of her own mother’s lack of involvement.  What exactly is the story behind Brooke’s broken dreams? And why does she cling to pageants as a way for her daughter to snag a wealthy man instead of encouraging academic/professional success instead?

The movie was a much greater commentary on small-town American values in postmodern society than a representation of third-wave feminism.  Perhaps that accounts for Whip It’s less than stellar box office performance.  I’d like to think audiences aren’t buying cinema’s misunderstood daughters with dream-thwarting parents anymore — life is always more complicated.

“I also love to explore what defines who you are, and friendship, and how you love to rock out with your best friend and cruise and drive and listen to the Ramones and play air guitar, and yet at the same time, they will come and slap you when you’re acting out of line. I love the themes that I put on the poster: ‘Be your own hero’ and ‘Find your tribe.’ Those are two things that are really important in my life.” — (interview with the AV Club’s Sam Adams, October 1, 2009, for Whip It)

“I love empowering women, and I love women that are capable. The one thing that I’m not crazy about are women that feel like they have to be a man to live in a man’s world, or that men have the upper hand. These women have this bitter chip on their shoulder, and that’s not really sexy. I like girls who have got each other’s backs. …

… I don’t like cattiness, either. I hate seeing women be rude to each other. Oh God. I don’t like man-haters, and I don’t like back-stabbers. I like chicks who can fuckin’ rip it up, pull shit off, and want to go for a beer with each other at the end of the day!” — (“Whip It! interview with director Drew Barrymore,” Chris de Salvo, The Scorecard Review, September 30, 2009).

1. Odwalla Pumpkin Protein and Pink Poetry juices were on sale at Fred Meyer’s yesterday. My two favorite ones!
2. Garrett’s birthday is tomorrow!
3. Walking with a friend– painful, but its been a long time since I was even able, so yay for healing!
4. Seeing my friend Diane’s Shiba Inu, Indy.
5. Sunshine!
6. Got really cute new thank you cards on sale at Marshall’s.
7. Downloading ‘Whip It’. So excited! ’cause I have an enormous girl-crush on Ellen Page and never made it out to see the Gem City Roller Derby team in Dayton.
8. A possible tattoo date with Cassie on Saturday.
9. Seeing “Fourth Kind” with Garrett– he’s gonna have nightmares, I’m sure of it.
10. And last but certainly not least, my dad, grampa and brother for helping me get my new car. I love it. )

This is our third guest blog from Revolution, although now she’s better known as K-Y La Jelly. (Check out 1 and 2)

Whip It was not only a directorial debut for Drew Barrymore, it was a debut of women’s roller derby resurgence that began merely at the turn of this millennium.  Hollywood’s spotlighting of lesser known athletics has led to their subsequent national and international growth before.  Documentary Planet B-boy attributes the international exposure to breakdancing simply after 1983 Flashdance’s introductory clip of kids dancing in the streets.  About’s skateboard guide, Steve Cave, lists the 1989 release of Gleaming the Cube, a movie that first featured Tony Hawk among other future professionals, as a major event that boosted skateboarding popularity.  Has the passion of Barrymore’s pet project impacted roller derby in the same way?

Despite the novelty of roller derby in Hollywood, Whip It’s financial and artistic grade achieved a big fat mediocre.  Box Office Mojo ranks Whip It #6 behind Zombieland (#1) and Toy Story I & II (#2) according to gross profits made that opening weekend.  Kyle Buchanan gives a more historical perspective on the film’s monetary losses in “A Dispiriting List of Girl-Targeted Movies that Opened Better than Whip It” on movieline.com.  To summarize, the list includes several movies that star Hillary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, and dramatize the following topics:  boyfriends, princesses/drama queens, animals (horses and mermaids), and gymnastics (not to belittle the athleticism of this sport).  Film critics from New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today grant Whip It one thumb up for an eccentric cast and one thumb down for a predictable plot.

A quick read through roller derby team websites and blogs, however, show a very different story.  Ivanna S. Pankin, founder of Las Vegas’ Neanderdolls and owner of the online derby store Sin City Skates, states that even if the movie had sucked it is a free marketing tool that educates people about the sport’s existence.  For the past year she has prepped her business to respond to sales booms after the film’s release.  Sojourney Beaver, Las Vegas’ general league manager and new recruits coach, says that for every person who asks, “There’s derby in Las Vegas?” another person asks “What’s roller derby?”  After Whip It’s release, Beaver found 22 more women at the next beginner’s practice, about four times the normal 1-5 newbies who show up at the start of the season.  Although most of these new recruits denied the film had anything to do with their choice to start derby, a few admitted they had no clue a derby team existed in Las Vegas until they saw flyers posted at theaters.  Similarly, LV member Bootsi Call quotes 380 tickets sold at the following bout compared with the average 100-200 fans.

Luckily, Ivanna says, Whip It didn’t suck because it was written by roller derby skater, Shauna Cross, who shows the reality of skating culture in the film that members and fans love most.  As LV member Shawna the Dead puts it:

“Oh fuck.  2 things.  The camaraderie and the challenge…it [the challenge] is ever-evolving.  There’s always something new to learn and ways to improve your game…  It’s pretty amazing that we have an almost global alliance of women who kick each other’s asses, then hang out talking about how fun it was.  I love that about derby.  It’s a global sisterhood.  Or at least it will be.”

That’s the face of it, but roller derby skaters often share a life-changing story like the characters of Ellen Page and Juliette Lewis experienced in Whip It.  Take Shawna the Dead, the first and only, meaning one, member of LV Neanderdolls.  A mutual friend introduced her to Ivanna S. Pankin and Trish the Dish, the coaches of a memberless derby team.  The coaches had played with Arizona Roller Derby (AZRD) and finding no team in Las Vegas, they started one in 2005.  Shawna felt awkward having undivided attention while she fell and sputtered over the rink, but each practice she returned out of guilt as the sole member and from the coaches’ strong encouragement.  At this time Shawna felt her “life was a mess” with serious involvement with drugs.  The team grew until October, 2009 when it beat AZRD in its first bout by 10 points.  Neanderdolls soon developed into a top-ten nationally-ranked travel team.  Because of this crucial experience Shawna cannot emphasize enough her gratitude to the coaches for turning her life around.

Beaver also started when Neanderdolls was a travel-only team.  The way she describes her personality before roller derby is similar to Alia Shawkat’s character in Whip It.  She never played sports in high school or college, considering herself rather bookish, but after moving to Las Vegas, she found out about the team at a bar.  She is still surprised that after a year of watching bouts she talked herself into attending practice, which just like the film showed, involved painful lessons.  As the sport helped her become more assertive, she stepped into the team’s current leadership roles and is proud to call herself a “weiner” to this day.

As a recruit-in-training for Las Vegas’ 2009 teams, The Notorious V.I.Ps and Tommy Gun Terrors, I hear more stories.  Roller derby really is a mix of professional women including waitresses, marketers, engineers, architects, artists, technicians, and therapists ranging in age from 20 to 50.  They basically run a small business, each member contributing her skills at least 4 hours per month to a committee, if not three.  A board of directors runs the committees and carries out financial decisions.  Despite the bruises and the broken bones, some have quit smoking, some have started exercising for the first time in many years, and they share tips on healthy eating, stretching, and strength conditioning.  And to show how serious they are, at their bouts they intimidate each other with tutus, skirts, capes, long socks, and fish nets.  Oh, and hips, hits, and fists.

Whip It may already be off Hollywood’s radar, but for roller derby participants and fans, it is sure to become a cult following.

More than 80 teams have officially joined the standardized national Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).  Former figure skaters, hockey players, and speed skaters are raising the athletic bar, but anyone can join after passing a skill’s test.  Google roller derby in your city to find teams.  If a team does not exist, visit WFTDA.com to learn how to start your own and find official rules.  Roller Derby can help you “be your own hero”.

[image via Wired]
[image via Sin City Rollergirls]

1. Angelina Jolie – Kate ‘Acid Burn’ Libby in Hackers (1995)

Potently sexual, self-assuredly street smart and (more importantly) an out-and-proud computer geek who is both respected and wanted by her male cohorts. Despite the dreadful pseudo-tech speak littered throughout this solid B picture, and the unconvincing way it’s delivered by an otherwise charismatic Jolie, Kate Libby is the kind of fantastical heroine geek girls everywhere can celebrate. Although Libby is perhaps not the most accurate representation of girl geekiness, she at least offers an alternative to the plethora of valley girls and bubble headed blondes commonly found on-screen. Admittedly a problematic character in many respects, at the very least Jolie’s enticing smart-sexiness is a whole lot of fun to watch.

2. Heather Matarazzo – Dawn Wiener in Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)

And from the sexy-smart to the painfully, hideously real. Everything about Dawn seems unfortunate. Dawn’s ‘Wiener-dog’ moniker, paegant-perfect little sister and generally unappreciative family all solidly contribute to the despair, frustration and confusion that Matarazzo expertly conveys to the audience. This is teenage isolation at it’s most awkwardly realistic. Dawn is no lingo-spouting hipster with a token cool best friend, nor an ugly duckling-turned-princess set to win the heart of the high-school hero, just a clueless young girl with nowhere to go. If this were Disney, by the films end we might see Dawn allowed some kind of hint of happiness. However,  as anybody that’s seen Palindromes might know, director Solondz isn’t really given to happy endings.

3. Reese Witherspoon – Tracy Flick in Election (1999)

“Pick Flick!” Tracy Flick craves success like no other. Witherspoon’s usual sunniness is here twisted into a scarily determined, over-achieving nightmare that seems a far-cry (and a refreshing reminder that the girl can – or at least could – act) from her usual ‘feisty damsel looking for love’ fare. An outcast of her own choosing, highly-driven Tracy wants nothing more than to be named student body president. Although originally assuming she would run unopposed, when she finds herself pitted against two potentially formidable opponents, her evilly manipulative nature is pushed to the fore. The bane of teacher Jim McAllister’s (Matthew Broderick) life (although the film is often focused on Tracy, it is largely told from McAllister’s perspective) despite her confirmed success in her adult life, McAllister’s suggestion that she will never be truly happy because she has nobody around her that truly cares for her seems likely to be true. On a personal note, I can’t help but feel that this suggests a girl can either have love or success, but never both; however, Witherspoon is on such power-thirsty, desperate-for-succees form that negative messages aside, Election is well worth a watch.

4. Robin Tunney – Zoe in Cherish (2002)

Although Tunney was in her mid-twenties when she portrayed troubled outcasts Debra in Empire Records (1995) and Sarah in The Craft (1996), her depiction of angst-ridden teenagerhood was particularly believable in both these films. However, while such characters were certainly on the fringes of society, neither were strictly speaking, ‘geeks’. Enter Zoe. A desperate thirty-something seemingly rejected by the men in her life and her co-workers, peering out into the world through a mess of frizzy-hair, it’s here that Tunney is at her most awkward, and yet, most engaging. After being wrongfully convicted of a hit-and-run and lumbered with a dangerous love-song-dedication DJ stalker, Zoe is forced to call upon an inner strength and cunning previously unknown to her. All the while, she also manages to captivate the hapless Daly (Tim Blake Nelson), a police stooge assigned to her case.  Although there is a hint of dodgy ‘take the glasses off, no more ugly duckling’ about Cherish, the transformation that Zoe undergoes is both charming and engrossing.

5. Ellen Page – Bliss ‘Babe Ruthless’ Cavendar in Whip It (2009)

Drew Barrymore’s directional debut as all the makings of an indie-chick-hit; hipster soundtrack, Kooks-esque skinny boy heart-throb, alternative sports, fishnets and larger than life characters. Although not the largest of these characters, as Bliss, Page is a dorky, awesome revelation and far more engaging here than in Juno (and less frustratingly too ‘honest-to-blog’ cool). Although the Whip It story is itself, fairly ordinary – misfit teen finds happiness and acceptance in a new group (in this case, a group of Roller Derby hellcats), pissing off her parents and dabbling in heart-wrenching first love in the process – a stellar cast lifts what could have otherwise been a somewhat novelty venture. That Page is so noteworthy amongst such an established cast is quite the achievement. Ater secretly making her way onto the Roller Derby scene, she passionately pleads with her furious parents that she can’t stop because (in her own words), “I love this!” Whilst such standard dialogue might sound trite from a lesser actor, given Page’s full commitment to the role, you don’t doubt her for a second.

originally published in the middlebury campus

The marketing team at Miramax touted their release, Smart People as being a creation “from the makers of Sideways.” I loved Sideways so this little marketing ploy was enough to ensnare me. The problem is that when they said, “from the makers of Sideways” what they really meant was “from the producer of Sideways and also staring Thomas Hayden Church.” Well, if a studio chooses to market their film like this they are inevitably going to invite comparisons and the truth is that Smart People doesn’t hold a candle to Sideways.

Dennis Quaid plays pretentious, aloof, and hated Carnegie Mellon professor of literature Lawrence Wetherhold. His wife died several years earlier and he managed to get himself stuck in a rut of disdain for his colleagues, students and life in general. The only real constant in his life is his budding young Republican daughter, Vanessa (played by Ellen Page) and scornful son. This all changes when, after suffering a seizure while trying steal his car back from the campus impound, he meets the lovely and charming Dr. Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker). She kindly informs the cantankerous professor that, as a result of his seizure, he is unable to drive for the next six months. This plot development, somewhat fortuitously, coincides with the arrival of his lay about brother (the aforementioned Thomas Hayden Church) who has run out of money and needs a place to stay. As one would expect these characters all work together to bring Dennis Quaid out of his shell, while changing one another in the process.

Smart People is a rather unfortunate case of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. The performances by Parker and Quaid are subdued, but still have an air of quirky about them that ensures the film doesn’t feel heavy. However, they are upstaged at every turn by the immeasurably better performances turned in by Thomas Hayden Church and Ellen Page. The scenes between the two save the film from being unwatchable. Church, who is the embodiment of quirky, plays off the uptight, Nancy Reagan in training Ellen Page perfectly. Page, in particular, needs special recognition. Her range as an actress is impressive; she manages to walk the tightrope between prissy know-it-all and lonely teenager yearning for excitement, with incredible panache and skill. She has proven herself to be an actress that can stand apart from the irritating title character of Juno and does more than simply holds her own alongside the likes of Church and Quaid.

Inevitably, though, these scenes between Church and Page are too few and far between. In fact, Church almost disappears entirely for the films third act, so we are left with Dennis Quaid’s curmudgeon professor. It is an act that very quickly wears out its welcome, and therein lays the problem of the film. Quaid’s character is so unlikable he makes it tough to care about his problems. Generally, an unlikable protagonist is not a problem I have with films, however here the character is so shallowly rendered he is not only unlikable he is also uninteresting. Paul Giamatti’s character in Sideways was not the token protagonist. He was not the most likable of characters, but he was an engaging, interesting, and complex character. Dennis Quaid’s Lawrence Wetherhold is none of those things.

The blame doesn’t really lie at the feet of Quaid, though. The script, written by novelist Mark Jude Poirier, doesn’t give Quaid a whole lot to work with. Poirier seems more interested in kind-of-witty one liners than he is in crafting characters of any substance or plot with any drive. I hate to keep harping on this (but since Miramax advertised it this way they were asking for it), but this is what separates Poirier and director Noam Murro from Alexander Payne (writer-director of Sideways). Payne is invested in crafting substantive characters that exist in a world that the audience cares about, and operate within a plot that doesn’t stagnate at the half hour mark. At the end of the film, Smart People feels like a film that had maybe forty-five minutes worth of plot, but was stretched to fill a ninety minute film. This isn’t to say there weren’t entertaining things about Smart People, but it’s a chore to sit through the rest of the film just to get to those good bits. My advice, if you want to take the risk, make liberal use of the fast forward button.

Pannkaj Kapoor’s Mausam would have seen an outburst of romance if Kareena and Shahid were still a couple.Apparently Pankaj had written the script keeping Kareena in mind when his son was dating the actress.
The movie got postponed after Shahid-kareena breakup as Pankaj had to scrape all his plans on casting Kareena as the lead.Moreover the debutante director could not find anybody to produce his movie before Religare Vistaar Entertainment agreed to do it.

“Things are fine now but they can’t go back to Kareena saying that they want her to do the film. They are feeling quite awkward about asking her to star opposite Shahid and hence they have decided to launch a nationwide hunt to look for a girl who will be suitable for the film.” a source revealed.

When asked whether he wanted Kareena for his film, Pankaj said, “Who told you this? I am still writing the script. How can I think of casting actors before I have completed my script? I will further talk when we are ready to roll.”

“Well, Shahid and Kareena look fabulous together on screen. But we are now having a nationwide hunt for the lead actress for Mausam.” Producer Sheetal Talwar commented

Kareena who had no idea about this till she was contacted and asked about Pankaj Kapoor‘ writing a script keeping her and Shahid in mind,said,” “If they have a good script and a good role and ask me to do it, I see no reason why I shouldn’t.”

Now that’s what we call professionalism !

♥ “Mammoth”

In this indie movie, Gael Garcia Bernal (“Y Tu Mama Tambien”) and Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain”) play a couple whose lives start unraveling when Bernal flirts with infidelity on a business trip in Thailand.

The story also focuses on their live-in Filipino nanny, which is exciting since very few Filipino actors breakthrough in Hollywood. “Mammoth” even features subtitles for the actors speaking the Tagalog language. With more than 1,000 votes on IMDb.com, the film has received a 7 out of 10 rating.

♥ “Salt”

This espionage thriller was originally set to have a male lead, but when Tom Cruise (“Collateral”) dropped out of the project, the role was re-written for Angelina Jolie (“Girl, Interrupted”), naturally. Jolie is Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent, who is framed for a plot to murder the president. She must prove her innocence while on the run from authorities. Leaps unto buses ensue.

♥ “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”

Jake Gyllenhaal (“Jarhead”) stars in this adaptation of a video game where he, along with a princess (Gemma Arterton from “Quantum of Solace”), must stop a villain from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.

It sounds lame when you put it like that, but from the trailers, it looks like the film has a good dose of comedy. It’s even produced by powerhouse Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Carribean”). Sir Ben Kingsley (“Gandhi”) and Alfred Molina (“Spider-man 2″) also star. Catch the domestic and international trailers after the jump:

♥ “Brothers”

Lionsgate and Relativity Media previously released a trailer for “Brothers,” which I posted here. This is the second trailer of the drama, which stars Tobey Maguire (“Spider-man”), Natalie Portman (“Closer”) and Gyllenhaal.  It’s better if you view it without reading a synopsis first, so take a look:

♥ “The Road”

It’s based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel which tells of the end of the world. Hardly anyone is left but Viggo Mortensen (“A History of Violence”), Charlize Theron (“North Country”) and their son, newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee. Guy Pearce (“Memento”) and Robert Duvall co-star. Dimension Films has also released two trailers for this Oscar contender. They are distinctly different as one is more dreary than the other. See for yourself:

♥ “The Princess and the Frog”

Disney is going back to its roots with this animated movie. Beating the likes of singers Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys, Anika Rose (“Dreamgirls”) as well as Terrence Howard (“Hustle and Flow”) and John Goodman (“Coyote Ugly”) voice the characters. A teaser trailer and full trailer below:

♥ ”The Wolfman”

Check out a horror film that boasts of Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada”), Benicio del Toro (“Traffic”), Anthony Hopkins (“Silence of the Lambs”) and Hugo Weaving (“Lord of the Rings”):

♥ “Inception”

Here’s a film that’s been kept under wraps so much so that all IMDb.com states is this: “Corporations have developed a technology to enter dreams to extract information from certain people’s heads. A CEO (Leonardo DiCaprio) enters dreams and things begin to escalate, taking a turn for the worst.”

The buzz surrounding “Inception” is mostly due to its director, Christopher Nolan, who also did “The Dark Knight” and “Memento.” However, I’m watching it for one of my favorite actresses, Ellen Page (“Juno”). Marion Cotillard (“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), Michael Caine (Miss Congeniality”), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Brick”) and Cillian Murphy (“Batman Begins”) are in it as well.

♥ “Green Zone”

Although it’s by the same people who brought us “The Bourne” movies, I think some would hesitate to watch it since it’s another war movie. Still, Matt Damon gives it some star power.

♥ “Invictus”

Damon is one hot commodity as he also stars in this Clint Eastwood film, otherwise known as an Oscar contender. Based on a true story, Damon plays the captain of a rugby team who is enlisted by Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) to win, thus, uniting the country. Prepare to hear Damon speak with a South African accent …

♥ “Gentlemen Broncos”

Some have have predicted that “Broncos” will be a cult hit, perhaps in the same vein as “Napoleon Dynamite.” (They have the same director.) “Broncos” is a comedy about a science fiction author who steals the idea of a student (Michael Angarano from “Will and Grace”) for his next book. Jennifer Coolidge (“Legally Blonde”) is also in the movie, playing Angarano’s mom.

♥ “A Single Man”

Colin Firth (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”) plays a gay man who tries to carry on after the death of his partner. Julianne Moore (“Children of Men”) joins Firth, who is a potential Oscar nominee. Based on Christopher Isherwood’s novel, I must say the trailer is pretty original. It eerily plays on with no words the entire time. The film itself received an 8.6 rating on IMDb.com.

♥ “New Moon”

As the second part in the “Twilight” saga, we find  Bella (Kristen Stewart) left to gather the pieces with Jacob (Taylor Lautner) since the vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) left her. This time around, Stewart finds herself among werewolves and vampire royalty, the Volturi.

♥ “The Book of Eli”

Denzel Washington (“Man on Fire”) stars in this action movie set in yet another future depicting the end of the world. To salvage what’s left, Washington has to protect a sacred book. Mila Kunis (“That ’70s Show”) co-stars.

♥ “Nowhere Boy”

I don’t know why, but this feels like the most refreshing trailer out of the bunch. ”Nowhere Boy” is John Lennon (newcomer Aaron Johnson) of The Beatles. It chronicles the band’s beginnings and Lennon’s life. Kristin Scott Thomas (“Life as a House”) is part of the supporting cast.

♥ “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”

Perhaps better known as Heath Ledger’s (“The Dark Knight”) last film, Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) strikes a deal with the devil, trading in his daughter at the age of 16. Parnassus tries to rectify his mistake by offering his daughter’s hand in marriage to whoever can help him. Jude Law (“Closer”), Colin Farrell (“Minority Report”) and Johnny Depp (“Blow”) all stepped in to finish Ledger’s role.

♥ “When in Rome”

In this romantic comedy, Kristen Bell (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) takes some coins out of a fountain only to have the men who threw them in fall for her. The lovesick puppies include Josh Duhamel (“Transformers”), Will Arnett (“Blades of Glory”), Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite”) and Bell’s real-life beau, Dax Shepard (“Baby Mama”).

♥ “Dear John”

Another Nicholas Sparks’s book, another movie adaptation. By now, I should know better than to fall for Sparks’s sap, but the trailer was enchanting. Channing Tatum (“Stop Loss”) and Amanda Seyfried (“Nine Lives”) fall in love, but Tatum, a soldier, has to return to war. *Tear*

♥ “Pirate Radio” (aka “The Boat that Rocked”)

Richard Curtis, the man behind the darling “Love Actually,” brings a new movie to the big screen. The film already has more than 11,000 voters rating it 7.6 out of 10 stars. “Radio” is a comedy about DJs who air their show on the high seas. Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”) joins the ensemble cast.

♥ “The Messenger”

IMDb users give this movie 8.6 stars. “Messenger” centers on the soldiers, Woody Harrelson (“Zombieland”) and Ben Foster (“Alpha Dog”), who are tasked with notifying the loved ones of their fallen comrades. Things are complicated when Foster gets involved with a soldier’s widow. Acclaimed actresses, Samantha Morton (“Minority Report”) and Jena Malone (“Stepmom”), round out the cast.

♥ “Alice in Wonderland”

This Tim Burton film hasn’t been released yet, but it’s already won an award. “Alice” was proclaimed the Most Anticipated Fantasy Film at the 2009 Scream Awards. If that still doesn’t convince you to see it, Oscar nominees Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”) and Depp are in the movie.

“Unattainable” by Little Joy is featured on the soundtrack to the movie Whip It.

After The Show votes the song the best off of the Whip It Soundtrack. Listen to it below: